Smoking Decline Halts Amidst Surge in Youth Uptake During Post-COVID Era

In 2019, the government established an objective for England to achieve a "smoke-free" status by 2030. (Credit: Reuters / Michaela Rehle)

The decline in smoking rates, a trend observed for decades in England, has hit a stumbling block in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pace of decline in smoking rates, which had previously registered at 5.2 per cent in the pre-pandemic years, has notably decelerated to a mere 0.3 per cent between April 2020 and August 2022, according to recent research.